This document discusses electronic waste (e-waste) management. It notes that e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams due to rapid technological innovation and replacement of outdated electronics. E-waste contains toxic materials like lead, cadmium, mercury, which can harm human health and the environment if not properly managed. The document outlines the sources and composition of e-waste. It discusses the hazards of improper e-waste disposal methods like landfilling and incineration. The document then describes some e-waste recycling processes and calls for extended producer responsibility and improved legislation to promote sustainable e-waste management.

1. ELECTRONIC WASTE MANAGEMENT
Dr. Shishir Sinha
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
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INTRODUCTION
The production of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest
growing businesses in the world. In the meantime, both technological
innovation and market expansion of EEE are accelerating the replacement of
outdated EEE, leading to a significant increase in waste EEE (WEEE) or
electronic waste.
A study by UNEP found that every year, 20 to 50 Million tons of E-Waste are
generated worldwide.
It is a crisis of not quantity alone but also a crisis born from toxics ingredients,
posing a threat to the occupational health as well as the environment if they are
landfilled and incinerated.
ELECTRONIC WASTE
Any electric and electronic equipment which is discarded at the end of their useful life
cycle.
These range from household appliances such as television, refrigerator, air conditioner,
cellular phone, and consumer electronics to computers.
IS IT HAZARDOUS WASTE?
E-waste contains several different substances and chemicals, many of which are toxic
and are likely to create adverse impact on environment and health, if not handled
properly. However, classification of E-Waste as hazardous shall depend upon the extent
of presence of hazardous constituents in it.
TOXIC HAZARDS AND HEALTH IMPACT
Constituents Sources of e-waste Health Effects
Lead Printed Circuit Boards,
glass panel and gaskets in
computer monitors
Damage to central and peripheral
nervous systems, blood systems and
kidney damage.
Affects brain development of children.
Brominated flame
retardants (BFR)
Plastic housing of
electronic equipments and
circuit boards.
Disrupts endocrine system functions
Cadmium Chip resistors and
semiconductors
Toxic irreversible effects on human
health.
Accumulates in kidney and liver.
Causes neural damage.
Mercury Relays and switches,
printed circuit boards
Chronic damage to the brain.
Respiratory and skin disorders due to
bioaccumulation in fishes.

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Hexavalent
chromium (Cr)
VI
Corrosion protection of
untreated and galvanized
steel plates, decorator or
hardner for steel housings
Asthmatic bronchitis.
DNA damage.
Beryllium (Be) Motherboard Carcinogenic (lung cancer)
Inhalation of fumes and dust. Causes
chronic beryllium disease or beryllicosis.
Skin diseases such as warts.
Plastics including
PVC
Cabling and computer
housing
Burning produces dioxin. It causes
Reproductive and developmental
problems;
Immune system damage;
Interfere with regulatory hormones.
Barium (Ba) Front panel of CRTs Short term exposure causes:
Muscle weakness;
Damage to heart, liver and spleen.
BASIC MATERIAL COMPOSITION OF E-WASTE
9%
SOURCES OF E-WASTE
Individuals and small businesses: discarded, not because they are broken but
simply because new technology.
Large businesses, institutions, and governments: Upgrade employee computers
regularly, say every 3-4 years. ( over 70% discards)
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs): OEMs generates e-waste when
production line don’t meet quality standards.
Imports: About 80 % of the e-waste generated in the US is exported to India,
China and Pakistan.
E-WASTE: IT’’S GRAVITY (SOURCE: INFOTREK SYSCOM LTD.)
The problem is severe : Do you know that in USA alone?
Between 1997 and 2007, nearly 500 million personal computers will become
obsolete-almost two computers for each person.
57%
22%
3%
9%
Metals Plastics Glass Electronics Others

3. 15,000,000 PCs become obsolete every year.
7,000,000 computers will end up stockpiled for at least 3 years.
750,000 computers will end up in landfills this year alone.
WASTE IN 500 MILLION COMPUTERS
Plastic 6.32 Billion Pounds
Lead 1.58 Billion Pounds
Cadmium 3 Million Pounds
Chromium 1.9 Million Pounds
Mercury 632,000 Pounds
INDIAN SCENARIO
According to a survey by IRG Systems, South Asia, the total e-waste in India has been
estimated to be 1,46,180 tons per year based on selected EEE tracers’ items. This figure
does not include WEEE imports.
Obsolescence
Rate
S. EEE
No.
1. Computer 7 Years
2. Television 15 Years
3. Refrigerator 15 Years
Washing 15 Years
Machine
4.
Toxics Link, a Delhi based NGO, says that India annually generates $ 1.5 billion
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worth of e-waste.
In Delhi alone 10,000 to 20,000 tons of e-waste is handled every year, of which,
computers account for 25 %.
As per a study done by Bangalore based NGO, Saahas, Bangalore generates around
8,000 tons of e-waste annually.
The Industry is growing at 36 % annually.
E-waste are generated from computer and related products(33.9%), large household
appliances(42.1%), consumer electronics(13.7%) (source: Green business
opportunities, CII, Jan-Mar 2006)

4. IT companies are the single largest contributors to the e-waste. Of the nearly 8
million PCs in India, 2 million are either of the generation represented by the chip
Intel 486 or lower. (Toxics Link)
Bangalore houses over 1,300 software companies, 36 hardware units churns out around
30,000 obsolete computers every year. (source: Saahas)
WEEE Generation Top Ten States (Source: IRG Systems)
S. No. STATES WEEE (Tonnes)
1 Maharashtra 20270.59
2 Tamil Nadu 13486.24
3 Andhra Pradesh 12780.33
4 Uttar Pradesh 10381.11
5 West Bengal 10059.36
6 Delhi 9729.15
7 Karnataka 9118.74
8 Gujarat 8994.33
9 Madhya Pradesh 7800.62
10 Punjab 6958.46
WEEE Projections (Source: IRG Systems)
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5. HAZARDS OF DISPOSAL
(CONVENTIONAL METHODS)
Landfill: Wastes that are landfilled produces
contaminated leachates which eventually
pollute the groundwater.
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Open landfills expose lead and
mercury to wildlife
Closed landfills vent airborne mercury
Incineration: Incineration of e-wastes can emit
toxic fumes and gases, thereby polluting the
surrounding air.
Plastics in cables
Lead in solder joints
Cadmium in
batteries

6. OPEN AIR BURNING / ACID WASHING
Prevalent in Asian countries
Plastics burned in order to recover copper
and other metals. Predominantly PVC forms
dioxins and furans.
High levels of cadmium, copper, lead and
zinc from ashes collected from waste (Circuit
Board) burning operations.
Extracted acid water contain highly toxic
metals and other chemicals. Its dumping
causes pollution of soil and water resources.
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RECYCLING
Poorly regulated operations have resulted in
toxic hazards and expensive cleanup.
Workers exposed to toxins in countries where
regulation is lax.
MANAGEMENT OF E-WASTE
In industries management of e-waste should begin at
the point of generation.
This can be done by waste minimization techniques
and by sustainable product design. Waste
minimization in industries involves adopting:
inventory management,
production-process modification,
volume reduction,
recovery and reuse.
Four Basic Principles – Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle Respond
Waste Prevention: Minimize the Volume
Reduce waste and pollution
Reuse as many things as possible
Recycle and compost as much waste as possible
Chemically or biologically treat or incinerate
Bury what is left
Re-use: Reuse is the environmentally preferable option for managing older
electronic equipment. Extending the life of old products minimizes the pollution
and resource consumption associated with making new products. ( MAXIMIZE
RE-USE)
Electronic equipments which are too old and commercially practically not
viable for reuse or is broken beyond repair, may be sent for disassembly i.e.
salvaging parts, and selling reclaimed materials.
Several electronic equipment, such as computers, monitors, printers, and
scanners, contain materials suitable for reclamation and use in new products.
These may include plastic, glass, copper, gold, silver, and other metals.

7. Inputs Process
Gold Plated Connectors
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E-WASTE RECYCLING
Equipment refurbishment and resale
De-manufacturing and disassembly
Recovering valuable components
Hazardous and base metal recovery
Hazardous component management
Precious Metal Recovery (Gold)
Product
collection
Test/Sort Resale/Reuse
(Product)
Resale/Reuse
(Parts)
Disassembly
Size Reduction
Separation by
materials
Market
Disposal
Cathode Ray tubes
Repeated 2 or 3 times
Metal
Components
Immersion
Heating
Stripping
Washing
Filtering
Nitric Acid
Fuel
(Coke, Coal etc)
Nitric Acid
Gold Flakes
Used Nitric acid
Water
Furnace Smoke

8. Precious Metal Recovery (With Mercury)
Inputs Process
Gold Flakes
Amalgam
Re used 2 or 3 times
Squeezing Mercury
Gold
Purifying
Gold (70%)
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Mercury
Nitric Acid
PWB –– ACID WASHING / BURNING
Used Nitric acid
Vapours
Water
Inspecting raw material: PWB with varnish or multilayer
Remove varnish manually with spate and water. Residues washed away!
PWBs submerged in sulphuric acid to remove Cu layer(12 hrs)
Pouring acid to stainless steel tub and boil (firing with PWBs). Remove Cu -
Sulphate crystals for selling.
remaining acid solution is poured into plastic drums and iron scrap is added to
fallout Cu.
the solution is poured in drums for settling. Cu sludge is recovered. Solution is
thrown. Cu is sold.
Dissembling of CRT and Extraction of Components
Monitors are much sought after by scrap dealers as they contain good quantity of
copper yoke, besides circuit board and picture tube. Monitor recycling involves
physical removal of plastic casing, picture tube (cathode ray tube), copper yoke and
plates.
Unscrewing the Opening the CRT With PMB Casing
Plastic Body Plastic Case
With Casing
Plastic
Casing CRT for
Regunning
Yoke for core
and copper
Extraction
Separated
PMB

9. EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY (EPR)
EPR extends the traditional environmental responsibilities that producers and
distributors had in the past (e.g. safety of production, prevention and treatment
of emissions from production) to also include management at the post-consumer
stage.
requires continuing accountability on producers over the entire life cycle of
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their products
producers must be financially, physically or legally responsible for their
products
Integral Components of EPR:
Product take-back programs - The producer should own the responsibility of the
product when it is discarded, either directly or through a third party.
Remanufacturing - The procured E-Waste should be used as an effective
resource base so that the maximum recoverable enter the manufacturing
process, thus reducing the dependence on raw materials.
Design - Redesigning the computer and its components as a front end solution
to the E-Waste problem.
The potential benefits of EPR include
Efficient use of resources
Cleaner products and technologies
Efficient reduction in manufacturing
Banning of hazardous substances used in production
Less heavy metals
Less harmful plastics
Increased recycling
e-WASTE MANAGEMENT
Suffer from drawbacks like-
Inadequate legislations,
lack of funds,
poor awareness and
reluctance on part of the governments and the corporates to address the critical
issues.
A plan of action for e-waste management has to address the above mentioned issues in
order to come up with a sustainable solution
PLAN OF ACTION
The most important participants/stake holders in any action plan would be:
The society, represented by NGOs and Environmental activists/scientists
Government - policy makers
Corporates - RD teams
Media - for awareness and public education

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LEGISLATIONS
Covered under the “ Hazardous Waste Amended Rules, 2003 “ in List A and B
of Schedule 3.
Basel Convention: A global agreement regulating transboundary movements of
hazardous wastes including E-waste between countries. An onus is put on
exporting countries to ensure that hazardous wastes are managed in an
environmentally sound manner in the country of import.
Basel Ban: It calls for prohibiting the export of hazardous waste from Developed to
Developing countries.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
Total ban on e-waste imports.
Move solutions to product design – toxics and hazard free.
Design for Longevity, Upgrade, Repair and Reuse.
Minimize toxics in production.
Tie recycling in with take-back product responsibility.
Bring awareness among the informal recycling units about the hazards involved
in processing of waste.
Promote adequate ESM technologies for recycling.